Liz Claiborne
(1929 - )
Elisabeth Claiborne was born on March 31,1929, in Brussels, Belgium. In 1939 her family moved to New Orleans and became American citizens. She studied art at the Fine Arts School and Painters Studio in Belgium in 1947, and also painting at the art schools in Brussels,
Belgium and in Nice, France in 1948.
Claiborne worked for various fashion houses in New York City (as a sketch artist and model for Tina Leser in 1950; as a design assistant, for Omar Kiam for Ben Reig, New York) and continued to develop her talent as a designer through the years. In 1975, Claiborne left her job at Youth Guild, the junior dress division of Jonathan Logan and founded Liz Claiborne, Inc., in January of 1976, together with her husband Arthur Ortenberg. That same year Claiborne was named Designer of the Year by the Palacio de Hierro, in Mexico City and Designer of the Year in 1978 by the Dayton Company of Minneapolis.
In 1981, Liz Claiborne, Inc. became a public company. By 1986 the company appeared in the Fortune 500 list of the largest industrial companies in the United States; also the first company founded by a woman. Claiborne became the first woman in the United States to be named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year in 1980. In 1985, Liz Claiborne, Inc. bought the Kaiser-Roth Corporation which produced accessories such as scarves, gloves, hats, handbags, and belts. In 1985 her new “Lizwear” label appeared on jeans, and a men’s sportswear line “Claiborne” was launched. A perfume line, “Liz Claiborne,” was introduced jointly with Avon Products.
Claiborne began retailing; and by 1992 had approximately forty-five stores. In 1985, The Marshall Field Company awarded Claiborne the Annual Distinguished in Design Award; that same year she received the One Company Makes a Difference Award from the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1986 she received an award from the Council of Fashion Designers. In 1989 she was awarded the Gordon Grand Fellowship from Yale University Award. In 1990 she received a Junior Achievement Award from the National Business Hall of Fame. The following year Barnard College awarded her the Frederick A. P. Barnard Award, and she was named to the National Sales Hall of Fame. Claiborne received an honorary doctorate from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1991.
Claiborne and her husband stepped down from active management in 1989; they remain, however, members of the board of directors. Claiborne is also a board member of the Council of American Fashion Designers.
